Sonny Angel Takeover ˚₊‧꒰ა 𓂋 ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

In 2000 and 2001, Mattel paid homage to the designers working on the dolls themselves with a two-doll series (perhaps originally intended to be ongoing longer) called the Grand Entrance series.

The first of these is in a blue and white ballgown, with a collection of white roses adorning her hip.

The second was elaborately dolled up in shades of pink. Both were packaged with a "guide to collecting", in a bid to encourage would-be collectors to become full-time collectors.

Each of the doll credits the designer on the front of the box, and provides a brief blurb about the designer on the back, including a brief list of other Barbies that they worked on designing.

One of the reasons I suspect this series might have been intended to be ongoing and then wasn't is because of the designer they picked to showcase for the debut of this collection, Carter Bryant. Carter Bryant is not exactly a household name, but it may be recognisable to people "in the know" in the doll world.

On May 21, 2001, only a handful of months after Carter Bryant was showcased as the second designer after BillyBoy* (and the first designer who was a regular employee of Mattel rather than a collaborator) to be credited by name on a doll, MGA Entertainment released a doll that was to become one of Barbie's big competitors.

And why is it relevant when Bratz hit the market?

Yes, the same Carter Bryant.

This became the crux of the lawsuit Mattel v MGA Entertainment, as written about by Orly Lobel in her book You Don't Own Me: How Mattel V. MGA Entertainment Exposed Barbie's Dark Side, which I read not long ago and highly recommend.

I don't know for sure whether this was relevant to Mattel not continuing the collectors series showcasing their designers, but let's just say I wouldn't rule it out either.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

It's go time! The candy is ready to hand out to the trick-or-treaters, and Kenleigh is dressed in her costume to greet them. Yes, she's a ghost. 😁 She's also using the McDonald's McBuckets to hand the candy out... I think she's got enough for all the neighborhood kids and herself to last until Christmas. 😆 Buckets were 3D printed by my hubby, and I painted the faces/details. 🙂 Candy is from the Minis in Minis series, plus a few printouts.

aaaahhhhhhhhh Here it is!  No picture of a doll wearing the skirt yet, because I foolishly decided I wanted to make a bodysuit to go with it first.

It’s not perfect, but it’s still a lot better than the patterns I use when I sew my own dolls’ clothes…

New doll diorama is up! I went with the Christmas morning theme again, complete with this year's Target sweater ornaments (they're too cute to be called ugly LOL). Plus this is a great way to display some of my mini toys - almost all of them are from Mini Brands! :D Lots of kids in here, so I'm saying some of the adults are in another part of the house LOL

Ryan got a new popper!

Someone is big into the OMG dolls :D

Nothing says Christmas morning quite like toys and wrapping paper scattered everywhere:

This little one is eager to show off her new toy to her mommy on the couch from her daddy's lap:

We have a Bratz fan!

Can't forget the Disney Princess dolls! We need mini Barbies like those and the Bratz... just saying ;)

Someone couldn't wait to play with his new car:

Toys galore:

Decorations:

The tree has real working lights in three different modes!

Happy holidays, everyone!

Oh Dear

I made a tutorial! Hopefully this is useful to somebody out there. This method would also be useful for modding other “plug connector” heads onto much nicer bodies.

Bonus glow in the dark kitty